The Upside to Thunderstorms
by Alayne Cira
Summary: Thunder, lightning, and HarryGinny fluff. Completed oneshot.


Lightning crackled and thunder roared angrily, disrupting the comforting silence of the night. Raindrops smashed into the windows, creating an irregular pattern. Ginny burrowed into the covers on her hand-me-down bed, silently cursing the furious storm outside.

"I hate thunderstorms," she whispered to herself. A large bolt of lightning illuminated the tree branches outside her window seconds before a clap of thunder shook the house. "I gotta get out of here." she murmured. She threw off the blankets that enveloped her and ran out of her room, her small feet crashing against the cold floor.

She flew down the stairs and gasped slightly as she crashed into a shadowy figure. Ginny stuck out her arms to break her fall but suddenly felt someone grab her around her waist, saving her from several nasty bruises.

"Ginny?" the figure said, obviously surprised. Why did that voice sound so familiar? Could it possibly be…?

"Harry?" Ginny said, feeling herself beginning to blush. Harry. Cute, loveable, blush-inducing Harry was holding her so close to him that she could almost feel his heart beating.

"Couldn't sleep?" he joked quietly, not wanting to wake up the other Weasleys.

"You guessed it," she muttered, noticing that he smelled faintly like chocolate. Thunder boomed loudly once more. Ginny jumped in fright, bringing herself even closer to Harry.

He seemed to finally realize who he was holding and started staring at a point somewhere to the left of Ginny's ear, hoping that she wouldn't notice the blush creeping onto his face.

"I hate storms like this," she said softly. If she moved slightly to the left, she would be able to rest her head on his shoulder…

Harry smiled, vaguely aware of Ginny's hands resting on his arms, just above his elbows. "I hated them when I was younger, but that was probably just because I was always locked in my cupboard…"

Ginny smiled. Even his breath smelled like chocolate. "It's pretty ridiculous, huh? I'm seventeen years old and still scared silly whenever there's a storm. Did you have to work late tonight?" Ginny asked him, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, Honeydukes is horrible at this time of the year. Fred and George think I'm betraying them by not working for them." Harry said with a smile.

"There's no way Honeydukes can compare with Weasleys Wizard Wheezes."

"I tried to tell them that, but they simply won't listen to the voice of reason," Harry said.

"You're the voice of reason?" Ginny asked doubtfully.

"Could I be anything else?" Harry replied, feeling his stomach flutter slightly.

The house shook as the thunder struck again, and Harry felt Ginny tense up in fear. "Strong storm, huh?"

"It's the worst so far this year. Usually the rain just sprinkles or drizzles a bit, but a few times a year the sky opens up and drowns us."

"I'm not trying to be mean or anything," Harry began, "but are you the only member of the Weasley family scared of thunderstorms?"

"Ginny laughed lightly before sighing. "Sadly, I am the only Weasley who is afraid of thunderstorms. They never really bothered me when I was younger because there was always someone to talk to, there was always someone there. But when I was ten years old, I was the only child at home during the school year."

"That must've been lonely," Harry remarked.

"It was," Ginny said in agreement. "A couple of weeks after the school year started, I got to witness firsthand one of the worst storms of my entire life."

Harry silently fought the urge to laugh, but he failed.

"How is that funny?" Ginny questioned.

The dim light of the moon provided just enough light for him to look into her eyes. "You just sounded so serious about it. I was…trying to lighten the mood!" he said, scrambling for an excuse. "Go on with your story."

"There's not really much more to it. The storm started around dinnertime, but it was just light rain. Unfortunately, it got worse during the night, and the thunder woke me up. There was nowhere I could go to escape the noise and the flashes of lightning. Eventually I fell asleep, but I never got over that storm."

"I know how bad it feels when it seems like no one is there for you," Harry whispered.

"I'll always be there for you," Ginny replied softly

"I'll always be there for you too," he murmured, lightly brushing her hair away from her face. "Hey, the rain stopped!"

"I didn't even notice," Ginny remarked incredulously. "I knew you had to be good for something," she joked.

"I'm good at other things too, you know," he said before gently kissing her.

"Yep, you're right about that," she remarked happily.


End file.
